Congrats Doug! You've taken a company that was on the list 2 years running and dropped them from the list. Is that the 'scalability' you were hoping to achieve with this recent round of layoffs? The 'efficiencies gained'? Who needs another award to clutter the office?
Back to the subject at hand. Netshops isn't on the list. I wonder why? Couldn't have anything to do with the recent layoffs, the increased work load on the remaining employees, the news that the Thralow reps weren't going to be allowed to stay in Duluth (like they were told when the purchase initially went through), the corporate churn - laying off employees just to hire more to replace them (in an attempt to appear more profitable in the short term), or changing people's jobs without regard to what their future goals are, either on a personal or professional basis.
I bet that last one is what really hurt Netshops in the voting. Yes, change is inevitable, but people also like some job security and knowledge that they are growing with the company. Moving someone from a position where they're the person resolving issues with vendors and talking about issues with store management to a phone rep position isnt going to win you points. Demoting an employee after they've busted their ass for you all holiday season (or longer in many cases) isn't much of a 'reward'.
Best Places to Work in Omaha 2007
Winning companies with 50-250 employees:
1. Lutz & Company, PC
2. Home Instead Senior Care
3. Olsson Associates
4. SilverStone Group
5. MSI Systems Integrators
Winning companies with 250+ employees:
1. Quality Living, Inc.
2. PayPal, an eBay company
3. Farm Credit Services of America
4. Marriott Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care
5. FirstComp
Quality Living Inc - a rehab based business - has been #1 three years running now, so it is possible to earn a spot on the list multiple times. I guess the difference between a company like Quality Living Inc and Netshops boils down to consistency.
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Comparing Quality Living - a Rehab business -to Netshops - an on line retailer is apples and oranges. It is sad that Netshops lost the title, but it's a lot easier to hang on to something like that when you've got a "consistent" proven business. Netshops appears to be a renegade trailblazer of a company treading where no man has gone before. There are bound to be surprises.
You're exactly right Simon. Comparing Netshops to Quality Living is unfair. I mean, to think that an online retailer such as Netshops has to worry about anything close to the # of things a rehab facility in the healthcare industry does is asinine at best.
Really, Netshops is nowhere near the company Quality Living is. Netshops doesn't have to be concerned about things like HIPPA policies, hiring people who have an education to assist them in their daily job duties, or proper records management.
While it is true that online retail is an evolving industry, it is not regulated like the healthcare industry is. If Netshops ships, say, bunk beds without bunkie boards to all it's customers, it won't be on the national news. However if an employee at Quality Living does something improper - maybe forgetting to provide meds, change a dressing or just simply lets some patient information out that they shouldn't have - it could ruin the company and people could lose licenses they've worked years to acquire.
So, thank you 'Simon' for helping me to clear this up. I apologize - I guess Netshops not being on the list got me all giddy and I posted in haste. Netshops does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as a company like Quality Living.
And yet PayPal consistently makes the list. Here is a cutting edge organization that has defined its industry. They depend on technology as a backbone to the company and have a mix of skills and responsibilities to make it all work. From executive to entry-level customer service, their basic organizational structure is fairly similar to NetShops. They have grown exponentially since they started and they were even acquired by a larger company (eBay) recently. This is usually a setback to a company. Still, they have been making the list over the past few years...both in Omaha and nationally. Wonder how they do it? STRONG leadership, STRONG sense of direction and purpose, and an openness to accept and implement new ideas no matter where those ideas originate in the company. Imagine that! Leadership listening to the rank-and-file, and in return, gaining respect from the entire workforce. There are dreamers and there are doers. Doug is a dreamer who handcuffs or lays off the doers. He has never run a company this big and he is in way over his head.
Sorry but I have to differ with the comparison to Paypal. Netshops has never been sued for 5.2 million like Paypal was back in September for their cutting edge deceptive business practices. I'd rather be known for a layoff! To say Paypal has an organizational structure similar to Netshops, well were back to apples and oranges again. Look - Paypal is essentially a bank. Netshops is a retailer. Completely different industries.
As for Paypal having a strong sense of direction, that's easy when you're owned by commerce monster EBay (a company quite experienced at layoffs by the way).
And LOBN (can I call you Lobin?), thanks for the dose of sarcasm in your response. Not much to go on, but you had fun with it, which I appreciate.
I really hope those of you here to seethe can find your way to a happier place. Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. You may wish to think for yourself whether or not Netshops is worth the salt in your tears...or another minute of your time.
Why so harsh 'Simon'?
Just a question that I don't really expect an answer to, but, what the hell, I'm gonna ask anyway. If you aren't an employee of Netshops and really are just some random passer by as you claim, how can you say the org structure at Netshops isn't the same as that at Paypal? Wouldn't the employees (or ex-employees in this case) be better able to compare companies to Netshops based on what we've experienced and on what friends working at the companies on the Best Places To Work list say? Unless of course you're now admitting you are a Netshops shill here to try and derail this blog...
As far as my response to you earlier, it's true. No sarcasm needed. Netshops doesn't have anywhere near the level of regulation to be concerned with that a company in the healthcare industry does. There really is no comparison.
To quote 'Simon' (with some minor adjustments) I really hope those of you here can find your way to a job. Getting a job is an attitude. Keeping the job is kissing ass and not making waves. We either make ourselves miserable, or we have a job. The amount of work is much less if you kiss ass and shut up (just look at Paulette - she still has a job and all she has to do is buy some shoes every few months for Tina). To those still employed by Netshops, you may wish to think for yourself whether or not Netshops is worth the salt in your tears when you get laid off for no reason...or another minute of your time. Paypal is hiring...
Well, call me crazy, but I just figured that an online financial institution would have a different operating procedure than a retail operation. But that's just me. You wouldn't have to be an employee of Netshops to make that assumption. And I admit - it's an assumption.
Your "mash up" of my sincere attempt to help out reveals that you have no intention to allow a positive flow of thought into this blog. Though I must admit, I am pleased and impressed with your most recent post, "Netshops and Unemployment benefits" which is straight forward, objective and helpful. It's posts like that which will make this blog an actual benefit to anyone interested in pulling themselves up. If you choose to continue the flow of negativity, this blog will simply derail itself. You won't need me to do that.
But I get the hint - you don't want my kind around. So I will move on for now and stop commenting (as it seems my comments are the only ones generating other comments at this time!).
I'll watch from afar with interest to see where your blog goes. The best of luck to all.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. – Semisonic, "Closing Time"
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